Same as you
by RenikaChan
Summary: In Germany, Tezuka met a girl who had also left a tennis club behind because of an injury. They became friends, but as they play against each other in the match in the Nationals, will feelings get in the way? Lots of OC. DROPPED.
1. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

"Singles One will be reserved for you when we play in the final game," Oishi said to Tezuka's back. "You will come back and play, won't you?"

"Of course," Tezuka looked at Oishi and Ryuzaki-sensei one last time.

With that, he picked up his suitcase and tennis bag and walked through the gates, not looking back. No emotion of any kind was shown on his face, just a blank expression.

---

Still as polite as ever, he got to his seat on the plane ten minutes before the closing of gates. Not that the staff waitresses weren't eager to help.

The seat beside him was empty. He glanced at it, but did not think anymore about the empty seat, which would later cause him lots of trouble. Instead, he leaned back and closed his eyes. He remembered how shocked his teammates had looked when he announced that he was leaving for Germany for a long period of time. He was helpless to their emotions; the only thing he could do was to encourage them, which he did his best to.

He glanced at his watch. The plane should have taken off twenty minutes ago. He wondered what was taking them so long. Some other passengers were complaining too, talking about not being on time. Then, an announcement was made.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are sorry for the delay of the plane, but we were requested to wait as long as possible for someone. If by the end of ten minutes from now and she hasn't arrived, we will take off. Please bear with us for now. Thank you for your co-operation."

"Huh! A _girl_! So full of herself that she wants everyone to _wait_ for her!" Someone behind Tezuka complained loudly. A few agreed.

Suddenly, there was a squeal, followed by a soft sorry. Tezuka felt someone tap on his shoulder. He looked up to face a staff waitress.

"Excuse me, sir, can you please let this lady in to her seat? Thank you," she smiled sweetly.

Tezuka stood up and moved out, while a young lady with a white cap on led herself in and sat down. "Thank you," she said to no one in particular.

She settled herself comfortably as Tezuka once again sat down. "What's your name?"

Tezuka was surprised at such a sudden question that he took a while to register what she said. Then he replied, "Tezuka."

"Tezuka what?"

"Tezuka Kunimitsu."

She held out her hand to him, "Yanagi Kenita. Nice to meet you, Kunimitsu."

He was yet surprised again by her straight forwardness as he reached for her hand. She even called him by his second name.

"Nice to meet you too, Yanagi-chan," he replied politely, shaking her hand lightly.

"Call me Kenita, and none of the –chan and –kun nonsense," she smiled slightly. "I'm the one who delayed everybody here, so I guess I should apologize."

Tezuka did not reply, but silently accepted her apology. It seemed like if he said something, she would say another. It'd probably be better if he did not say anything.

However, she continued, as the plane started to move. "I thought maybe I'd pretend to miss the plane and perhaps they'll let me off. Too bad they saw through my plan and made sure the plane did not take off without me safely inside."

She gave a small and soft laugh. Finally, she reached for her cap and took it off. Soft brown wavy hair flowed out from the cap, and finally, her golden eyes were completely visible. Her features were perfect, and there seemed to be a special shine coming from her entire being. Her teeth were white and shone when she smiled. It was as if the whole person was shining, lighting up the whole aircraft.

"What kind of sports did you take up?" she asked casually, taking out a sketchbook.

"Tennis," Tezuka replied nonchalantly. He did not bother to ask how she knew.

Kenita froze for a split second before opening her sketchbook. She flipped through it idly before finding a blank page. She turned her head and stared at Tezuka. He felt as if he was being examined. After a few minutes, she turned back to her sketchbook.

"I am leaving a tennis club behind for Germany too," she smiled. It was a genuine smile, not the one that dazzled. Not only was it genuine, it was sad. Her hand did not stop flying across the page. It was a little bit of drawing here and there. The face, the nose, eyes, ears and mouth. It was a person.

Tezuka ignored her drawing and settled for just staring at the back of the chair in front of him. "Why?"

Kenita smiled that genuine smile again. Tezuka somehow found that prettier than the dazzling smile.

"I loved tennis too much, and was thus forced off the team to treat my injury."

Somewhere in her tone, Tezuka heard a voice crying. He took a quick look at her eyes. Sorrow and longing were mixed as one.

Kenita tugged at his sleeve. "Look, I'll show you my teammates," she pointed a wonderfully sketched person. She smiled her bright smile. "This, Kunimitsu, is the captain. Yanagi Arita, my twin sister."

The person in the picture looked very much like Kenita. Except that she had extremely straight and long hair, which made her look even taller in the picture.

Kenita flipped to another page. "Marashi."

Another page, "Hanajima."

Another, "Shimaya."

"Kenrina."

"Tanya."

"Mingzashi."

"And our precocious darling, Rika. She is supposedly a first year but she skipped that and went straight to second year. She was top of her class for her examinations too."

Tezuka looked at each member carefully, and noticed thatmost of them had excellent body shapes, but did not look like sportsplayers or thatkind of thing.

"You draw very well."

"Thanks," she smiled and put her sketchbook back into her bag.

"You are going to Germany because…? It's not holiday in Japan." Boy, she was good at changing subjects.

"Same reason as you."

"Oh." She shut up.

The 'Belts On" sign was switched off, and almost immediately, a young girl of age around fourteen came and leaned over to Kenita.

"Can…can you please sign my book, please? I... I can't believe I am meeting you in person! I am a great fan of yours! To meet you here of all places! Do sign my book!"

Kenita put on a dazzling smile again and signed her book gracefully. The girl bounded off happily, giving a little squeal on the way back to her seat.

"I was a famous dancer," Kenita replied to Tezuka's unquestioning face. "Though not in Japan."

Tezuka just nodded. 'This isn't going to be a boring flight,' he thought meaningfully.

* * *

**A/N: Hello, thanks for taking time to read this first chapter. I will have to bend a few rules in the story so please bear with me, unless you don't like 'rule-benders'. (Smiles) Also, there may be slight OOC for the boys as I still haven't completely figured out their personality yet. I'll try my best to stick to them though. If there's any things about the story you would like to correct, please do tell me! Though you must comfort me a bit after the whole 'lecture' so that I won't feel all bad and you know... Thank you!**

Alternate-Mysteries


	2. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

Kenita chatted on about herself, Tezuka only half listened. They had their supper and were preparing for sleep.

Kenita fell suspiciously quiet as the lights in the aircraft were switched off. 'Peace,' Tezuka thought and closed his eyes, his spectacles safe in his spectacles box.

Tezuka felt something heavy on his shoulder when he woke up. Kenita's head was resting peacefully on his shoulder.

As he shoulder did not feel pressurized, he left her alone. He looked down and saw that she was holding her sketchbook, opened to a page she was still working on. The person in the picture had only the hair and the shape of the face. The features were not completely drawn yet.

He took the book lightly out of her hands and flipped through it, examining her teammates who she was so fond of. Indeed all of them were made to look like superstars, with fancy dresses and almost perfect faces. Were there really such people with perfect appearances in the world?

Beside him, Kenita stirred a little. Quickly and swiftly, like the tennis player he was, he flipped the book back to its original page and slipped it back into her hands.

He realized something. Whatever she had always ranted on about herself, he realized that it wasn't about her life. Sure, those were people in her life, but she only talked about _their_ lives. He found out that he did not really know about her.

Not too soon, she woke up. Rubbing her eyes, she sleepily took out a comb from her bag and pulled it through her hair. It wasn't tangled up. Stretching herself, she greeted, "Ohayo, Kunimitsu."

Ha. Not a word about her sleeping against him. Not thanks either.

"Ohayo," Tezuka replied.

He stood up to go to the bathroom, and Kenita followed suit. When he came back, she was already there, working on her drawing. As Tezuka sat down beside her, she slowly closed her sketchbook. Without warning, she cried. It was a silent cry. Just like that. The tears flowed.

Tezuka could only stare as the other passengers continued to sleep. In the dark cabin, he could still see the shining tears flowing steadily down her cheeks. It was silent, yet she was still smiling that dazzling smile.

Just as suddenly as she started, she stopped. She quickly dried her eyes with a readied tissue and she slowly opened her sketchbook again. She stopped and put down her pencil. Then she looked up to meet Tezuka's eyes.

"You're back!"

She never noticed him when she cried.

The moment the plane's doors were opened, she had burst her way through everyone, arousing many angry shouts. She had whispered goodbye to Tezuka before rushing off. And she left something in his hands. A portrait of him. He was looking at himself without a mirror. It was so detailed, that it looked almost alive, even though it was black and white.

"Hn," he muttered to no one.

"Ah, Yanagi Kenita, we've been waiting for you," the woman at the desk smiled superiorly at her. "Please do wait, while I get your things ready for you."

After some shuffling of papers here and there, she finally folded them neatly and put them in an envelop for her.

"Your sister has arranged everything for you, the kind soul! I hope you will enjoy your long stay here. And you do not have to pay anything, everything's been paid by your sister."

Kenita smiled her thanks while the lady looked at her excitedly. Kenita thought she saw the lady look longingly at her signature after she had signed the paper. So, she has been heard of here.

---

Turning her keys, she stumbled into her room and looked around. It was small, sure, but just nice for one or two persons. The homey touches couldn't be missed, and the soft colors which brought a sense of peacefulness. It was a serviced-apartment, which was the best they had in the boarding school. If you considered this much exquisite like a _school_.

Just right beside her room was the main hall, and on the right of the hall were the boys' rooms.

Her sister knew her tricks too well. Arita had came up with a flaw-free plan and everything went perfectly, from forcing Kenita onto the plane to making Kenita feel 'welcomed' enough in the school. Arita even asked for a small place in the apartment to put up with some special mattresses to do her stretching on.

_Argh_, Kenita thought, irritated, as she picked up the phone and called Arita's number. The phone rang three times before being picked up.

"Kenita!"

"Arita."

"Come on, be more lively! I know you're alone there with no one, but you'll make friends soon!"

"Yeah, as if you're ever lively as our buchou!"

"That, you know what I mean."

"I met someone on the plane, though. I'm guessing he's coming to this _school_ I am at now, but I may not see him again. He plays tennis too."

"Like, of course, you're in a _tennis_ school."

"Tell mom I've arrived safely with no more broken bones."

"Hai."

"Bye." Kenita immediately put down the phone.

---

Tezuka waited patiently while the lady at the desk shuffled and reshuffled his papers. Finally, after she made sure the papers were neat and tidy, she gave them to Tezuka, fingers brushing slightly against his. Tezuka thanked her as politely as ever and proceeded to his room.

His was a serviced-apartment, and he thanked Ryuzaki-sensei silently for the team's payment for his stay in Germany.

He sent an SMS to his parents and Ryuzaki-sensei to inform them of his safe arrival.

Ding, dong, dang.

"Please proceed to the main hall." An announcement was made.

Tezuka sighed inwardly. He had just reached and he hadn't even started unpacking yet. Though it wasn't a hurry as he had three more days before the real classes start.

He took his time as the hall was just next to his room. Finally, he heard the noise outside his room die down. The others must have entered the hall by now.

Taking his keys, he locked his door and turned around just in time to see Kenita closing her room door. 'She must be a good player to be accepted here,' was the first thing that came to his mind.

She looked up suddenly and smiled when she saw him. She gave a small wave before heading towards him.

"Looks like we have the hall as a neighbor, Kunimitsu."

"Hn."

* * *

**Review replies**

Someone : Yep, thanks for pointing that out. So I've put A/N to tell everyone that I'll have to bend a few rules. Hehe.

KatrinaKaiba: Sure she was drawing a picture of Tezuka, as revealed in this chaper.

**Thanks to:**

Lady Light, Tsuki Mizuno, xxlemonsxx

**A/N: Right, I'm still developing Kenita's character, so I may be wrong with the writing of her replies and reactions, but I will try my best.**

Alternate-Mysteries


	3. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

_(Back in Japan)_

Yanagi Arita stared challengingly at the manager.

"I tell you we want to cut through and enter this tournament," she whispered deadly, watching with a tinge of pleasure as her victim flinched. "And you will let us."

"But-" the manager started to say but fell silent by Arita's death glare.

"It will not be unreasonable. It will be this way: once we lose to one school, we will not try to rejoin again. If any of the schools want to pick a fight, they will come straight to us and have nothing to do with you."

"It's…not fair to those who played from… And this is a boys'-only competition…"

"The girls'-only competition is no fun!" Uotani Marashi cut in, her Yankee attitude back onto the surface. "They are _weak_! It's hard to meet a _team _of decent girls who play tennis these days!"

"Still, we can't let you…the- the rules states that-"

"You play tennis, darling?" a girl with black hair held out a black rose to him. "I'll prove myself to you."

The manager stuttered, maybe partly because of her beauty and partly of her unwavering tone.

"Sakura-sempai, you'd have scared him out of his wits before you even served the ball." Tachibana Rika spoke with a bored voice.

Sakura put a hand softly on her cheek. "But of course…" her tone as scary as ever. "Poor thing, should I scare you out of your wits before I let my team into the tournament, sweetheart?"

"Well, manager?" Arita asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"You…are allowed…to join…in the tournament…" the manager stuttered before disappearing into the back room.

As the team walked out of the room, Arita turned to Sakura, "Hanajima, I think he will suffer from mental problems for at least a week."

"Ne, Yanagi-chan sweetie didn't stop me, did she?" Sakura opened her eyes widely at Arita, as a picture of innocence.

"Let's get back to school," Arita glared at Sakura with a slight guiltiness on her face and turned away.

"Ah, your famous glares never worked against me, Yanagi-chan sweetie."

---

"Ready when you are, Hanajima," Uotani Marashi announced, her hand holding tightly on to her racket. Argh, even her teammates makes her nervous sometimes.

"Then I won't hold back, my sweet Yankee," Sakura Hanajima said softly and threw the ball higher than usual.

Just as the ball reached its height limit, without waiting for the ball to start falling down, Sakura jumped lightly off the ground and hit the ball without force.

However, the ball flew fast and Uotani reached it just in time. 'Darn,' she thought, her fire lighted. "Return this, you weakling!"

"Like always, Uo-chan darling," Sakura whispered, hitting the ball swiftly.

This was what normal people would think, Sakura hits the ball without force and can still send the ball flying fast. But actually, she was trained not to show signs of any kind, letting the opponent wonder whether it would be a hard or soft ball.

Uotani chased after Sakura's ball, fire even wilder in her. "THIS!"

This time, Sakura did not reply, but hit the ball as gracefully as ever.

Uotani returned her ball and Sakura held her racket with both hands. Uotani quickly ran to the back of the court. Seeing Sakura's grip tighten, she got herself ready for one of Sakura's Black Attacks. Surprising, the ball was just over the net and landed.

"15-0!"

* * *

At the next court, Mikagami Mingzashi was playing against Hikari Kenrina. Mikagami lobbed ball and Hikari started twirling. She was in a ballet twirling position, her arms placed together above her head. Her racket was turning fast, almost impossible to see the sides. Suddenly, she jumped up just as the ball started falling down.

She was very much behind where the ball was heading, but somehow the body shoot forward and turned again when she reached the ball and was in smashing position. She smiled sweetly at Mikagami and the ball went down. The ball continued turning on the spot it landed until it slowly stopped.

"Wow! Hikari-chan! This is the first time I saw it first-hand!" an extremely short girl shouted, making herself visible. She was, however, ignored.

"Oops, I was slightly too serious, Mikagami-san, gomen," Hikari bowed, "but it's more fun that way, isn't it?"

"Old friends, Kenrina-chan, don't be so formal. Save that line for competitions."

"That would anger Yanagi buchou, you know that, Mingzashi-chan. Want to get me into trouble?"

"Hai."

A voice interrupted them, "Still playing, Hikari-sempai? My competition's over with Timika-sempai already."

Hikari turned around. "Arita buchou doesn't like people to show off, Tachibana."

"Just jealous, Hikari?" Another girl cut in.

"You're siding her, Timika-sempai?"

"Well, I won, 7-6," Timika smiled superiorly.

Hikari and Mikagami rolled their eyes.

"Four of you, 50 laps around the court!" a voice came from behind them.

"ARITA!" All of them shouted, except Rika, who put her racket down and started running.

"That's hundred laps for you three!"

* * *

**Right! Now I've updated, I need your opinions. Please tell me whether it's confusing for you guys to tell apart who's who. Do you want me to write them as their surnames or names? Though Arita and Kenita will forever be written like that, course if I wrote 'Yanagi', you might not know who I was referring to.**

**Review replies...**

KatrinaKaiba: She was crying because she missed her teammates. She's actually a very emotional person, you know, from her dazzling to genuine smile, she's mostly acting, I think.

Lady Light: Sorry to be so confusing, I'll explain how it goes. '' this sign means it's at another scene not related to the previous paragraph. '---' or a whole line across means it's still around the same place except I'm writing different people. Don't worry if I made it even more confusing now, sure you'll catch on!

**Thanks to:** Tsuki Mizuno, xxlemonsxx and dream-angel114.


	4. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

"Nya, the sun's hot!" Kikumaru complained, shielding his eyes. Echizen just pulled his cap lower.

"You can't complain about that during the match, Eiji-sempai," Momoshiro said, also fanning himself madly with his hand.

"Minna! Tezuka sent an SMS!" Oishi announced, looking up from his hand phone. Like always, everyone crowded around him, reading the message. Except Echizen, who stood by the side and just listened to Momoshiro, who read it out loud.

---

"ARITA!" The whole team, excluding Sakura and Rika, shouted at her. She had received a message from Kenita and had kept it from the team but was found out.

The person being shouted at, however, just stared at her angered team. Even she felt Sakura was in a small temper. Still she glared at them coolly.

"Win today's match first." was all she said. "Shimaya will announce the players."

Timika Shimaya stepped forward and cleared her throat, "Doubles Two, Kirisawa Tanya and Timika Shimaya, me. Doubles One, Hikari Kenrina and Mikagami Mingzashi. Singles Three, Tachibana Rika. Singles Two, Sakura Hanajima. Singles One, Yanagi Arita buchou."

Arita turned to Marashi. "You're allowed to sit in this time. Kenita isn't here. But you should be warned, after Kenita returns, you will be outside again."

"Like I care," Marashi smirked, though her eyes told a different story.

"You do, my sweet Yankee," Sakura interrupted while admiring her black nails.

"SHUT UP!" Marashi clenched her fists but she immediately looked guilty.

"Hanajima."

"I've stopped, Yanagi-chan darling buchou. And sorry, Marashi-chan darling, I played with your feelings."

"You're just making things worse, Sakura-san."

An announcement was made and they got ready.

---

"Game won match, Dunman High doubles two, Kirisawa/Timika! 6-4!"

Kirisawa bowed politely while Timika pulled one of her startledopponents into a hug. "Great game!"

---

"Game won match, Dunman High doubles one, Hikari/Mikagami! 6-0!"

Hikari did a ballerina bow and almostdanced off court. Mikagami followed, yawning.

That was when Arita felt someone tugging her arm. "What is it, Marashi?"

"Come with me."

Next was Rika, and she walked steadily onto the court. Whispers followed, and her opponent heard something that sent a shiver down his spine.

"_I heard that she is precocious! She skipped her first year when she enter secondary school and went straight to second year! She was top in her class too!"_

"_Can anyone really make that? Top of her elders!"_

"_That's what I heard! Maybe she's just as good in tennis too?"_

She turned to the referee. "I'm backing out."

And she traced her footsteps off the court.

Her opponent, feeling brave, shouted, "You must be too chicken to play against someone better than you, huh? Ha! Precocious my foot! I'll take the next player here!"

Smirking, he raised his racket at Rika. "Wimp!"

"Ne, my turn already, darling referee?" Sakura produced a black rose from nowhere to the referee.

Stunned, he nodded, not taking eyes off her.

She walked to the bench and changed to high heels. Her opponent, already terrified out of his wits by Sakura's aura, whimpered slightly.

"Regretting?" Rika called from the benches.

The opponent either ignored her or he couldn't hear her.

Sakura secured her high heels and walked onto court with her racket. She walked up to the front of the net, where her opponent was waiting with shaking knees. Out of nowhere, she produced another black rose and threw it onto the ground. Then, she crushed it with her heels.

"The seed is being planted," she purred dangerously.

With a ball in her hand now, she walked to the back of her court. She shot a smiling glare at him, "The water and minerals are important to the seedling, sweetheart."

The ball flew past him. "The rain has started. Water is near reach."

Another ball flew past him. "Water and minerals are absorbed."

This time, she hit a slow ball, which was caught easily by her opponent. "The seedling fights to be above other seedlings."

"Game, Dunman high Sakura. 5-4!"

"The struggling is over," Sakura finally announced and the ball flew past her opponent, who was expecting a slow ball and did not react in time.

"Game won match, Dunman high Sakura, 6-4!"

Sakura walked past a currently being scolded Tachibana Rika, who had gotten off the match without Arita's permission.

"Why'd give him the face?" Uotani asked Sakura.

"I'm a kind soul, not like you, my sweet Yankee," she smiled softly, though her eyes were anything but gentle.


	5. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

It has been a routine since the first day of school. And he got _so _used to it.

"Ohayo, Kunimitsu!" That was every day's start off. He'd wake up at six and at six thirty, Kenita would come and knock at his door. Then they'd go running together around the park until seven thirty.

"See you after school!" That was what she always said before returning to her room. By eight, they would each go off to their classes (yes, they still do study even though it is a tennis school. They must do academically well as well).

Then they'd have their lunch break at one o'clock, the free time that they did not spend time together. She would be with her friends, and him with his. Though he'd never interacted much, the new friends he made stuck by him somehow.

Lessons end at three in the afternoon, the last hour before school ends would be their 'Healing Lessons'. (What they do there I will not elaborate) They only have training twice a week, as all of them are still 'healing' some part of themselves.

At six in the evening, Kenita would knock on his door again. "Finished your homework yet?" And they would go running again until it was seven. Then they'd return back to school and that would be it for the day.

Except on Saturdays and Sundays, Kenita would sometimes ask him out for lunch and dinner. She knew where all the good food around the estate was, and he usually had enjoyable meals on those days. But sometimes she would completely ignore him on weekends though it was still the same routine on weekdays.

They have yet played tennis against each other. Until one day.

She knocked on his door as usual at six thirty. "Ohayo, Kunimitsu! Guess what?"

He shook his head. "I've gotten permission from one of the teachers to play a game of tennis with you today! Say you'll come!"

He nodded.

She smiled happily and tugged at his arm.

After the run, they let themselves cool down before starting their warm up stretches. What Kenita did surprised Tezuka. She reached unreachable places easily, her body was so flexible. The way she twirled her body to warm up was almost impossible.

Then she even did a split. Calling to Tezuka, she smiled, "Can you come and help me for a while?"

Tezuka stood up from his stretching position and moved over.

"Hold my front ankle down and don't let go."

He did as instructed. Slowly, her body began to move backwards, and he felt her ankle moving up. He pushed it back down. Finally, her upper body was flat against her back leg.

"You can let go now, thanks," she smiled warmly. Slowly, she got up from her position and stood up. "Ready to play, Kunimitsu?"

He nodded.

"One game then, okay?"

"Hn," he finally replied, his voice deep.

"Hang on, I need to change my shoes."

Taking out a pair of heels from her tennis bag, she took off her sports shoes and put the heels on instead. Tezuka was surprised. _Looking down on me?_

She then walked back on court, as steadily as she did on sports shoes. 'A good balancer,' Tezuka thought.

"Rough or smooth?"

"Smooth," Tezuka decided. Kenita turned her racket. It spun and spun. Then it slowed to a stop. Rough.

"I'll start first then," Kenita smiled her dazzling smile, which Tezuka grew to dislike.

She threw the ball up and Tezuka's eyes widened. She was now standing only on her heels, body bent like ' '! The ball came down and she hit the ball lower than usual. Still it flew over the net, and Tezuka almost missed it.

Both were using their right hands.

As Tezuka hit the ball, Kenita had gotten the position where the ball was landing.

Holding her racket sideways, she went into a split position as she hit the ball. When the ball bounced up from it's position, it flew sideways of where Tezuka's racket was and to the other side of the court.

"Split Shot," Kenita introduced, back to standing position, "the ball can go any direction I want it to at anytime."

The match continued, neither side losing concentration. Soon, Tezuka found out that Kenita could only do her Split Shot when the ball was near the side of the court. So, he concentrated on aiming the ball to the middle.

Tezuka wondered, 'If you hit it to the left, or right, it will be an out.'

She was already in Split position. She lobbed the ball. On Tezuka instinct, he jumped to smash the ball. As he waved his racket, the ball shot from within his reach and was doing a Split Shot in the air. It turned another way and was an IN.

"Just to let you know, my shots can adapt to any changes, and can come out at any point of the game," Kenita smiled and Tezuka caught a hint of satisfaction in her eyes.

---

Later that night, Kenita lay in her bed and thought about the match. She had lost 7-5. Her right hand was feeling sore from having used it too much, and her left hand was getting restless. She had _so_ wanted to play with her left hand but couldn't. That was what the doctor said.

Still hot-blooded after the game, she could not sleep. Instead she got up from her bed and decided to go for a moonlight walk.

Finding a nice big tree, she climbed up and sat on one thick branch. She leaned back and just admired the moon and stars. Then, she heard soft footsteps and looked down. There he was, walking slowly with his hands in his pockets.

He sat down under the tree.

"Tezuka Kunimitsu!" she called softly. He looked up. For the first time, he really smiled just at her.

* * *

**I don't know if it's okay with you guys, but this fic will be showing more of the girls than the Seigaku regulars. And of course, more on Tezuka and Kenita... If it's any problem, please tell me! Thank you!**

Alternate-Mysteries


	6. Chapter Six

**Chapter Six**

"You can start practicing with your left hand now. But do not train too vigorously at first. I will monitor your progress for a week. If my predictions are right, you are soon on your way home."

"REALLY?" Kenita smiled excitedly at her doctor.

"Hai," she confirmed.

Kenita pulled her into a hug. "The most wonderful news I've heard in my life!"

"But remember, no vigorous training. You are not allowed to have your own games as well from now on. Or else, my predictions might get messed up. Will you work with me? Once this is over, you can play to your heart's content."

"Not a problem. I've _so got to_ tell Kunimitsu!" And Kenita rushed out of the room.

---

Kenita could tell Tezuka was in a good mood the moment he opened the door to her.

"What are you so happy about?"

"So are you."

"I can't tell you how happy I am! Oh, I feel like giving you a hug now!" And she did, pulling a surprised Tezuka into a warm hug.

"You really do things at your own pace." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

"Hai, hai. Gomen, gomen."

There was a pause, and then, "Argh! Why can't you just ask me what happened! I'm dying to tell! Anyway, my doctor said that I could start playing with my left hand now!"

"You're left handed?"

"Didn't you know?"

Tezuka shook his head slightly. "So am I."

"I knew that a long time ago! Anyway, if by the end of the week her predictions are correct, I'll be on my way back to Japan!"

"Great."

"You're not very enthusiastic," Kenita pouted.

"I'm not good at that."

They fell into another silence. Kenita broke it again.

"Can you at least tell me what you are happy about, Kunimitsu?"

"More or less the same news as you."

Kenita screamed in delight and pulled Tezuka into another hug. "Yay!"

Suddenly, there was a knock and the door opened. One of Tezuka's friends entered and stopped suddenly at their position against each other. Kenita stared at him then dazed him with her smile as she let go of Tezuka.

The guy cleared his throat, "Um, Tezuka, I…thought girls aren't allowed in boys' rooms…?"

Kenita jumped up and smiled again, "Oh, don't worry! We're friends! We're not going to kill each other or anything!"

Tezuka rolled his eyes without anyone seeing.

"Meaning you have to go, Kenita."

"Gomen! Bye then Kunimitsu and his friend!"

She left.

His friend let out a sigh of relief. "What _were _you doing just now?"

"Nothing illegal."

"You have a weird sense of humor, you know."

* * *

"Hoi! Minna! I've got great news from Kenita!" Arita called out to her teammates who were getting ready for practice. 

Everyone immediately crowded around. There were shouts of "What?", "Quick tell us!", "She's coming back today?" and "She already in Japan?"

"Her wrist's probably healed," Sakura said softly, admiring her black nails and polishing them.

"She's down for a week's monitoring and if everything's fine, she's returning. She will be in time for the Nationals if she comes back in a week," Arita said self-consciously.

"Can't you have more enthusiasm? Your sister's coming back, after all."

"Everyone 50 laps on heels, now!"

There was a groan, "60 laps then!"

Everyone shut up. Putting on two-inch heels, they started running. All had perfect balance and finished a round in a minute like always.

Arita, however had three-inch heels on and started to run with them.

"Next practice, three-inch heels!" she shouted.

Everyone groaned again. "70 laps!"

* * *

**Okay, so this is a boring chapter... I know... I'm feeling terrible these days...**

**THANKS TO ALL MY REVIEWERS!**


	7. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven**

Kenita was very careful with her wrist for a week. By the time the week was up, she was running short of patience.

"Is it all right? Can I go back? Will I be able to play?"

Her doctor looked grimly at her and for a second, and she felt her heart dropped to the bottom of her stomach. Then her doctor smiled.

"Congratulations, my predictions are correct. Fully healed."

Kenita widened her eyes and examined her wrist. Her face broke into a smile, a really happy smile and nearly jumped onto the doctor. But she stopped herself. She stood up and held out a hand. "Thank you so much."

---

Tezuka heard pretty much the same thing. His arm, this time, through many, many, many checks and confirmations, was finally fully and absolutely healed.

He was unlocking his door when he felt someone jump on him. Without thinking, "Kenita."

He carried her into his room. She got down gracefully from him and sat cross-legged on the floor. She smiled a smile that he had always enjoyed seeing on her face.

"Ne, Kunimitsu, you heard the same news as I did?"

"Hn," he replied tonelessly.

She jumped up happily from her position. "Let's go celebrate! Come on! I've been dying to go to that restaurant! Be ready in twenty minutes, okay?"

Without waiting for him to reply, she slammed his door shut.

---

Dressed casually, they were now sitting in a small cozy café, enjoying the little desserts.

"I love tasting sweet things…" Kenita trailed off.

She had ordered a little of everything, from the cookies to the cakes and drinks. She had forced him to share the food with her as she 'wanted to have more variety of food'.

So far, they'd had the entire restaurant's different types of cookies, cheesecakes, chocolate cakes, almond, mocha, strawberry, and mango… whatever you name it. Now Kenita was currently trying out a small cup of vanilla cappuccino, and seemed pleased with it.

She put the cup down and pushed it towards Tezuka. "Try this. I'm thinking it's too sweet."

Tezuka took a small sip and replied, "Hn."

"You finish it," Kenita smiled and took up the menu again. "Let's see…want to try…ice mocha? Too common…something not heard before…this…nope…"

She muttered softly, trailing her fingers down the number of drinks. "Vegetable juice then!"

Tezuka nearly puked. He was reminded of someone very irritating.

Kenita waved the waiter over. He seemed pleased that she was ordering some more.

"What would you like, miss?"

"Vegetable juice."

"Of course."

He scurried off to the counter. Kenita looked up to see Tezuka frowning. She reached over and tapped his forehead. "Dear sir, are you all right?"

"Hn."

'Then why are you suddenly frowning? Did I say something wrong?' Kenita thought.

The vegetable juice was served. It was green, as expected, but Tezuka did not feel any better. "I will not drink that."

Kenita quirked an eyebrow. "It doesn't look so bad."

She took a sip. "They've added sugar in as well. Come on, try it."

"No," Tezuka shook his head firmly.

Kenita giggled. "First time I see you so firm in this kind of situation. Teehee…"

"Minna! I've gotten a message from Tezuka!" Oishi shouted to his teammates excitedly.

"Hoi, hoi! Finally! Is he coming back, Oishi?" Kikumaru bounced over to him.

"Hai!"

"Ne, isn't it wonderful? Echizen…" Fuji smiled.

"Usu."

"How…about we celebrate at my dad's sushi shop? I'll treat everybody!" Kawamura asked shyly.

A cheer erupted.

"I'll finish all the sushi! Nya!" Kikumaru shouted.

"Even wasabi sushi…? Eiji?" Fuji asked.

"Besides that…" Kikumaru blushed.

"Right! Everyone on court! The National's in a few days!" Ryuzaki ordered.

"Ryuzaki-sensei, it's at least a week away!" Momoshiro complained.

"Baka, with your attitude, you're sure to lose!"

"What did you say, Mamushi!"

"30 laps around the court! Kaidoh and Momoshiro, 50 laps!"

"Hai!"

* * *

**As usual, thanks to all my reviewers! Oh, and I'm feeling better now...thanks again to all who asked...**


	8. Chapter Eight

**Chapter Eight**

"I'm leaving tomorrow."

"Same here."

"Have a game?"

"Is the oh-so-great player asking me to play?"

"Hn."

"I'll win this time."

"Try your best."

"You're already telling me you're looking down on me," Kenita whined slightly to irritate Tezuka.

They walked to the court. This time, Kenita wore sports shoes and used her left hand. Tezuka used his left hand as well.

"Rough or smooth?"

"Rough."

Tezuka turned his racket. It spun and came to a stop. Smooth.

Tezuka threw the ball into the air. Kenita returned the ball almost immediately. Tezuka played right into her Split Shot.

Kenita was grinning. But her grinned faded as her Split Shot failed. Tezuka Zone.

No matter which way she hit the ball, it still went back to Tezuka. And he hadn't moved from where he was one bit.

Determined, she lobbed her ball with a slight turn of her wrist. It did not go to Tezuka this time. Instead, it suddenly dropped from the sky in a forward turning way and was just over the net. The ball then bounced back to Kenita, who did not try to catch it. The ball was an out.

The point was hers.

"Out Lob."

They continued playing, Kenita showing no more new moves. Somehow or other, the game ended three hours later, 7-6, Tezuka won again. (I don't want to write so much about the game…just to introduce 'Out Lob!')

"Looks like I still can't win you," Kenita smiled at him. "Come on, we have to pack and get ready tomorrow. I'm guessing you're taking the same plane as me?"

"Hn."

"Yay! See you in the morning then!"

"Doesn't she know how to get back herself?" Arita asked, bored.

"We get to miss practice, and we also get to see a relaxed Arita!" Shimaya grinned.

"You all know how I am when I'm on and off court. What's the point?"

"None, Yanagi-chan sweetie. It's just interesting that you have such different personalities at different places, darling."

"It's called knowing what to do at the appropriate time. Where are Kenrina, Mingzashi and Rika?" Arita asked, looking around.

"Somewhere on earth," Marashi replied.

"They went off to get some drinks, I think," Tanya said, looking about. "The boys are cute around here. See those in blue uniform? And tennis bags! They must be a tennis club!"

"Still boy-crazy, Kirisawa-chan sweetheart? You're still young," Sakura admired her nails. "It's not healthy."

"I'm better than last time!"

Typical girls. There goes another round of 'boys' argument. "Stop it, or you'll run 50 laps around the airport on heels!"

Both shut up at once.

---

"Tezuka should be out around now…" Oishi looked around nervously.

They had sacrificed their practice time to welcome Tezuka back. If he had made a mistake in his arrival day, it would be _his_ fault.

Suddenly, Kawamura pointed to the exit and said shyly yet excitedly, "Look! There's Tezuka buchou! And he's with…someone."

"He is? Must be a friend he made at his school!" Oishi said happily for Tezuka.

Fuji's smile never faded as he gave a smirk, "More like a _girlfriend_."

"Huh?" That got the attention from everyone. "Tezuka buchou's got a _girlfriend_?"

"Nope," Inui interrupted, his hand flying across his notebook. "They might have feelings for each other but it is obvious they did not confess yet."

"How do you know?" Momoshiro asked, a bit scornfully.

"They don't hold hands for one thing, nor do they exchange intimate touches between them, and the way they act around each other is held back and not let freely, like other lovers do."

"And you just worked that all out?" Kikumaru asked, staring at Inui with his big watery eyes.

"Hai."

Oishi, who did not hear the conversation just now, waved madly at Tezuka, signaling him over. As he, or _they_, walked nearer, Oishi began to then wonder who the girl was. (A/N: Oishi's being kind of slow…)

Surprisingly, the girl let Tezuka walk out of the gate first and gave him time to return to his teammates before she exited the gate herself. No exchanges of goodbyes or 'Hope to see you soon!' as the two passed each other.

Oishi noticed Tezuka glance after her for a split second before turning back to his team. Again, his expression was blank.

---

"Konnichiwa people!" Kenita smiled eagerly at her teammates.

"All healed?" Arita asked, pulling her into a hug.

"Why am I here then?"

"Hi."

"Yo Marashi!"

"Oh my sweet darling has come back! Ne, Kenita sweetheart?"

"But of course, Hanajima. Still love the colour black?"

"As I love my life."

"Yanagi Kenita! Missed me the most?" Shimaya fluttered her eyelashes prettily.

"No."

Shimaya's face fell. Kenita burst out laughing.

"Just kidding! Missed you, yeah, but not the most though."

Shimaya's face, if possible, sunk even lower. Kenita ignored her and turned to Kenrina.

"Twirl and give me a professional 'hi'."

Kenrina did as told and twirled right on the tip of her toes. Giving a dramatic bow, "Hi."

"Tanya, Mingzashi and Rika?"

"Why aren't we given the honor of being welcomed by you individually?" All three asked at the same time.

Kenita merely smiled. "Let's go."

* * *

**This has been the most boring chapter I've written so far... I felt bored when I was writing this then it turned out to be _boring_! Dionk Sighs... Sorry for this! You can actually just skip this chapter, it's just announcing the safe arrival of Tezuka and Yanagi (Kenita)...**

**Btw, dream-angel114 asked about the German thing: **I don't know any german words, gomen...so I just used English...typical...

Alternate-Mysteries


	9. Chapter Nine

**Chapter Nine**

"Everyone start running! Finish 50 laps in 50 minutes! Those who fail will run 50 laps on heels again and will have to finish the laps in 50 minutes!" Kenita shouted to everyone the moment she was changed and ready.

"Why do you waste your breath telling them the consequences?"

Kenita gave Arita a you-know-why-yet-you-still-ask-me look.

"That includes you, big sister."

"Ah, but of course."

Arita put on her heels and started running as Kenita followed suit and ran after her.

"Both of them are running on heels!" Tanya whispered to Rika, who was running along beside her around the middle of the crowd.

Rika shrugged. "Big deal."

"Ha, like you ever do well running on heels. You aren't that perfect, stop being so arrogant."

Kenita turned back and said, "Extra 5 laps for talking. No extra time."

Both victims immediately sped up. Especially Rika, who, like Tanya said, did not do well running on heels.

Soon, everyone was sitting on the ground exhausted, having ran 50 laps. Only Kenita, Arita and Hanajima were standing.

"Mingzashi/Kenrina against Shimaya/Tanya!" Arita announced in a demanding voice. "Court A! Now!"

Groaning softly as not to let it reach Arita's ears, they took their racquets and dragged their feet to Court A. Marashi was to be the judge.

"You'd better come up with a good story, Shimaya-chan. Or we'll definitely lose," Tanya muttered, irritated at always losing to the other pair.

"I'm trying," Shimaya replied, scrunching up her face in thought.

Tanya left her alone as she grabbed a bottle of water and poured all its contents into her mouth. Then she picked up a yellow bottle with cute little rabbits all over it and threw the bottle to Shimaya.

Shimaya caught the bottle and absent-mindedly drained the bottle. Suddenly, her eyes lit up. The game was theirs.

---

"Kenita against Rika! Court B! Hanajima will judge."

"Yeah, while buchou slacks," Rika muttered under her breath.

Unfortunately, "Rika, watch what you say," came a stern voice from right behind her.

"Hai," she dragged her answer.

"Ne, did you ask Ann-chan about the school we are playing against in the nationals?" Kenita smiled, putting her arms around Rika.

"Stay away from me," Rika moved away, out of her reach. "And yeah, I heard from Kippei."

"Are they any good? I mean, you can finish your cousin in about what, 20 minutes?"

"Hai. He said he did not want to tell us so much. He just told us to be prepared to be strong and never give up."

"Seigaku, isn't it?" Kenita smiled sweetly.

"Yes. Can we get started with the game now?"

"Of course."

---

"Game won match. Mingzashi/Kenrina. 6-4!"

"We lost again," Tanya sighed, her eyes already red from a bit of crying of Shimaya's story. "But the story was good, trust me. We would have won if they weren't so strong. Especially Kenrina, her ballet's just too good."

"You should not depend so much on your feelings to play tennis, Tanya-chan! I know I am a good speaker and very creative, but hey, I'm human too! I don't have super powers!"

"But I don't seem to get any kind of scared or nervous or whatever happy feeling there is when I get on court! I don't want to lose without playing my best! And the best way for me to feel is to have something touching or whatever going through my mind so that I get extra energy!"

Shimaya then caught sight of Arita waving a finger at her to go over. "You go rest awhile, Tanya-chan!"

Hurriedly, she ran towards Arita who was watching Kenita and Rika play. Panting slightly, she stood by her side and waited for the buchou to start talking.

It was after a while that Arita finally moved a muscle. She handed Shimaya a piece of paper but did not even look at her. On the top of the paper, it wrote: **This will help you with your stories for Tanya. Save this for the nationals. No using it beforehand.**

Quickly scanning through the paper, Shimaya smirked and fought the urge to laugh. Shooting one satisfied look at Arita and then Kenita, she hurried off, folding the paper neatly and safely into her tennis bag. Being a popular speaker has its advantage; she will always be the one to receive information.

---

"You lost again, Tachibana-chan sweetie. Why? I thought you were going to win, sweetheart."

"Why can't we have a normal judge?" Rika complained.

"Just admit you lost," Kenita smiled broadly at her, her white teeth shining.

"You're not human, always seems so perfect."

"You're too straightforward sometimes. You lost."

"Stop reminding me! Think about your age."

"Academically, you're only a year younger than me."

Rika decided to roll her eyes and walk off.

* * *

_Great news! I have finished all the remaining chapters! The story is **finished! **Should I be sad or happy? I don't know, but I have another story coming on! Yay! Please **review to let me know what you think! **This chapter is about how Tanya and Shimaya play their tennis. As you can see, they rely very much of the emotions. Especially Tanya!_

Alternate-Mysteries


	10. Chapter Ten

**Chapter Ten**

"Welcome to the final round of the Nationals. Today, Seigaku will be going against Dunman High. The two schools please proceed to the registration desk. Thank you."

Many different schools were already gathered around the court where the match was to be held. Everyone was chatting excitedly, with many murmuring about rumors they heard. People from the public had also arrived towatch the exciting match that they had heard about. Some younger children were heatedly discussing about the tennis players they'veknown about, each boasting about how great their idol was.

Some schools came to cheer while others came to jeer. Yet, the two competing schools had not arrived.

The sky was azure blue, not a cloud was seen. The wind blew gently now and then, providing a cool sensation from the sizzling sun.

A van pulled into view and stopped at the entrance. The first one to step out was…Ryuzaki sensei, followed by Tezuka and the rest of the team.

Stretching, Kikumaru smiled, "Nice day for a game!"

"Just perfect, isn't it? The wind?" Fuji's smile widened. Behind him, Inui just started muttering something about the weather.

Some people they did not know cheered loudly for them, and some whom they knew ran forward to wish them luck.

Fudomine was just wishing Seigaku luck when someone shouted, "Ann! Kippei!"

Both turned around at the sound of their names being called. "Rika!"

Ann ran forward and hugged Rika enthusiastically, while Rika just stood there, a look on her face showing that she regretted calling out to them.

Behind her was the Dunman High team. Tezuka nearly lost his composure as Kenita lifted a hand and waved, "Kunimitsu!"

He ignored his teammates' stares but returned a 'hi'.

'Ne, Tezuka, you never told us you had a _girlfriend_," Fuji smiled as he made his buchou as uncomfortable as possible.

"Buchou has a girlfriend…" Echizen purposely repeated. "Calls him by his name too…"

Tezuka resisted the urge to shout at them. Suddenly a hand was put out to him. "Yanagi Arita, captain of Dunman High tennis club."

Taking her hand into a firm handshake, he replied stoically, "Tezuka Kunimitsu, Seigaku."

Looking past her, Kenita smiled sweetly at him. "Vice-captain." Shaking his hand, she asked, "Who's the vice-captain of Seigaku?"

"Oishi," Tezuka replied, and somehow, Kenita managed to find the right person to shake hands.

For a while, everyone just stared at each other in silence, except for Rika and Hanajima. Both were just doing their own thing, Hanajima admiring her nails as usual while Rika looked bored as usual.

"If we don't get going now, none of us will win," Arita reminded all of them.

---

Tezuka wasn't spared by Fuji. He kept making small comments about Kenita and wouldn't stop hinting about him returning her wave when he usually ignored everyone.

---

Not too soon, the first game started. "Timika/Kirisawa against Momoshiro/Kaidoh!"

All through the doubles two game, Shimaya's mouth never stopped moving. She was always muttering continuously as Tanya felt the touching parts of the story. Sometimes, she would suddenly burst out laughing and then she would cry. Somehow or other, they managed to continue playing.

All these girlish play was driving Momoshiro and Kaidoh up the wall. Both were extremely irritated by the fact that the girls somehow ignored them as they muttered, cried, giggled and sighed.

One time, they were taken by surprise by Shimaya's 'Golden Hare' move, as she flew across the court speedily, Kaidoh constantly reminded of Kamio.

However, they kept up the game and however well Shimaya and Tanya played, they lost to Momoshiro and Kaidoh, 7-6.

Kenita leaned in to Arita, "I've never seen her so touched in the play before. What story did Shimaya come up this time?"

"I came up with the story, Kenita. You can ask her to show you the story if you want."

Tanya was still drying her eyes on a towel as they approached their buchou. It was hard to differentiate whether she was upset about the match or the story.

Suddenly, Tanya ran forward and pulled Kenita into a tight hug. "You must try your best, don't give up on him yet!"

Kenita had no idea what it was about, but seeing the smug look on Arita's face, she was sure of one thing, the story was about _her_.

---

Mingzashi and Kenrina won the doubles one game. Oishi and Kikumaru smiled at them as they thanked each other. Though Kikumaru still could not believe Kenrina's ballerina's skills, the ball seemed to be at her every command as she made her every move while he made his. Somehow the ball always seemed to fly past him when he was sure he could reach it.

"They've trained well, Tezuka. That pair is even passed our age's ability." Fuji commented, his sea blue eyes wide opened as Rika and Ryoma walked onto the court.

---

"That arrogant kid!" Marashi complained, staring at Rika as she stubbornly tried to get a point with her special move, no matter how many times Echizen had returned her ball.

"Echizen's arrogant as well," Kenita replied, still smiling. "Both of them make a good pair. An arrogant couple."

"Go get warmed up," Arita commanded and Kenita obeyed as she began stretching right beside her. Getting the usual help from her sister to do complete stretching, she was ready by the time Rika's game ended.

Rika had lost.

"Arrogant kids!" Marashi, Kenrina, Mingzashi, Shimaya and Tanya shouted together.

They were completely ignored by the both of them.

"Mada mada dane," Echizen smirked.

"Like you're any better," Rika kept her pride and walked off the court.

* * *

_Two chapters up today... I hope that makes up for the wait... And I will definitely update tomorrow as well! I've finished the whole story anyway!_

Alternate-Mysteries


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